Chapter 55: The Curse of Misfortune

January is a brief lull for the NBA; this period belongs to the NFL.

The NFL playoffs reached their climax at the end of January, with the Super Bowl taking place on January 28th at the Louisiana Stadium in New Orleans.

The San Francisco 49ers easily defeated the Denver Broncos with a score of 55:10, lifting the Vince Lombardi Trophy for the second consecutive year, and securing the team's fourth Super Bowl in history, becoming the most successful football team of the 80s, and unsurprisingly gracing the cover of Sports Illustrated's February issue.

By February 9th, another major news shook the North American professional sports world: MLB began a lockout due to labor disputes.

This was the seventh strike in MLB since 1972, showing that baseball players are indeed quite militant.

The reasons behind the labor disputes were similar to the NBA's, also relating to free agency transfers and signings.